Her Story
by BlueJewel
Summary: I may decide to continue this but I'm not certain. It is a short look back on Rikku's past which the game does not generally concern itself with.


One  
  
It was a different time. A monstrous entity aptly called Sin frequently paid a horrific visit to the homes of the people of Spira. The people lived in fear and were forced into a primitive culture – something far from their distant past. Wherever the fatal touch of Sin fell, the people were affected. Families were torn apart, children orphaned, livelihoods ruined forever. The Calm was a distant memory of old men and women who sat about their huts, glorifying old times.  
Although the Yevonites held hope in their summoners, the Al Bhed did not. They scorned the Yevonites for pinning their faith on an unfortunate soul who had no choice but to yield themselves for the greater good. This horrific sacrifice was something that Cid wished to end. As much as he hated those Yevon-loving idiots, his little sister had fallen in love with one. The biggest one there was, too. He had disowned her in a way. Declared her out of his family – thus, the greatest insult an Al Bhed could suffer. She had held her head high, walking away without shame despite Cid's rage following her footsteps out of the village.  
After the humiliation Cid and his family had gone through because of his sister, he could not believe his eyes when Lord Braska appeared at his door, asking for a place to spend the night with his two guardians. Keyakku and Brother stood behind their father, both trying to see who the strange visitor was and why Cid seemed so bewildered. Never had Cid been confused – he either knew what to do, or pretended to know!  
Cid's wife chided her sons, ashamed at their audacity and ushered them into another room. Their whines could be obviously heard and Lord Braska could not help smiling.  
"Ah, they remind me of Yuna," he said, his voice as smooth as silk yet genuine as well. "You have a son, do you not, Jecht?"  
The burly man at Braska's side only grunted in response and Cid bristled at this lack of etiquette.  
"Who are you to barge on into my home, eh?" he demanded, arms crossed obstinately.  
The thin eyebrows of the summoner raised a bit and he peered into Cid's face wonderingly. His dear wife had mentioned of her elder brother's bluntness but he had not expected this open display of animosity. She had always been so gentle, smiling often, especially on their sweet daughter named Yuna.  
"I am your brother, Cid. I was under the impression that I would be tolerated in your home as I continue my pilgrimage to Zanarkand," he finally said.  
Cid yelped as if a hot poker had been dropped on his foot. His voice rose to a fervor and even the neighbors who were accustomed to outbursts turned their heads in surprise. "You mean to tell me that my niece is in that hole you call Bevelle alone?"  
The guardians on either side of Braska tensed slightly as Cid's aggression increased but Braska signaled them to stay calm. Cid was no imminent threat.  
"Yuna is being well taken care of by a Ronso acquaintance of mine. She has been taken to Besaid Village under my direction. It is a lovely place where she may live a normal life." Although Braska's voice was calm, it possessed an underlying steel. A raw emotion that somehow convinced Cid that his niece, whom he had never met, would be fine wherever her father sent her. Deep down in his subconscious, Cid understood how those "dern Yevonites" could trust a man like Braska with their lives.  
"Fine. You can sleep on some rugs we got somewhere," he muttered and moved aside to allow the most prominent Yevonite of all into his home.  
  
~  
  
"Another meeting?" the little girl protested as her mother tucked the covers tightly around her skinny frame. "I thought Father was done with meetings for a long time."  
The girl's mother had a wide smile, one that comforted the most fearful soul. This smile cheered the girl, no matter what small troubles laid their way in her path.  
"This is no ordinary meeting, Rikku," the mother whispered. "Guess who that is in the other room."  
Rikku shrugged her shoulders, completely bewildered. "Who?" she demanded.  
"Your uncle, honey. He has a daughter just a little older than yourself." She kissed her daughter's forehead gently and raised herself off the mattress. "Maybe you will meet her one day once the Calm arrives."  
Rikku smiled at the thought of another playmate, especially a girl. There were so many boys in the village and it would be a nice change to be friends with a girl. "When will that be, mama?"  
Despite her smile, the mother's eyebrows drew together involuntarily. A shadow crossed her lively green eyes but just as suddenly dissolved. "Very soon, sweetheart."  
"Will you wake me up when it does come?" Rikku asked innocently. "I don't want to miss it!"  
"Of course. Now go to sleep and don't wake your brothers with any late night chatter."  
Rikku nodded in response and murmured, "I love you, mama. Good night."  
  
~  
  
Never had little children felt such pain as Rikku and her brothers felt as they watched their mother's body float out to sea. "Memories are just memories. Better not to dwell on them." An old Al Bhed saying that the three had taken for granted for so long.  
News of the Calm arrived slowly but arrive it did on the tongue of an traveling old man in green robes. Rikku remembered the green robes for some odd reason.  
She remembered the image of Brother bawling at the top of his lungs and Cid's sharp rap on the back of the boy's head as a reprimand. Keyakku disappeared somewhere with some other of the older boys of the village. Cid accepted the guests as was customary but eventually closed the door, displaying his deepest mourning for the loss of his dear wife.  
Rikku could barely understand what was going on, never mind sit still long enough to fully comprehend the situation her family was in now. Cid retired to his bedroom and left Rikku and Brother to their own business. The cold mood of the house stifled her spirit and she longed to be out of the long mourning robe and under the bright Mi'ihen sunshine with the other children.  
She struggled out of the robe and into her ordinary garb, unused to the absence of her mother's assistance. Only hours after the dear woman's death, Rikku was learning to care for herself.  
The usually bright blue sky was clouding over and thunder heads loomed in the distance. Rikku did not care though since she was finally outside and away from weeping adults and brothers.  
The village she lived in was small and compact but satisfactory for the Al Bhed. This collection of about twenty families and fifteen or so bachelors was hardly a fraction of the entire race but Cid was working tirelessly for a united people under one banner. He continually held meetings in his home with the heads of other tribes, hoping to reach an agreement on a location for a place where all the Al Bhed could go Home. Rikku, at her young age, was too immature to understand the importance of her father's work and allowed the political talk to sweep over her juvenile head. Sheltered all her short life, she was not ready and able to take on the world just yet but she was determined to make a name for herself.  
The rutted dirt path that cascaded through the village quickly grew overgrown with weeds and rocks and ancient machina bits but the little girl hardly noticed where her feet led her. Lost in her thoughts of how pretty the mountains looked, she did not see nor hear the vicious fiend snorting behind her. Nor did she notice its gelatin-like body building up energy to unleash a powerful spell. Someone else did, though. A cry of, "Thunder!" pierced the peaceful air Rikku had been dreaming in and she suddenly felt a searing white impulse spread through her weak body. Her arms stiffened and her joints locked up all over. She cried out in agony but suddenly fell limp and lifeless on the ground, shocked by the sloppy black magic that had smashed into her.  
A boy, not much older than she, cried out in frustration. He chased away the fiend and awkwardly carried Rikku back to the village where Brother and the others flocked about them, crying out and calling for Cid. Rikku's father came out of his hut, slumped over as if carrying a great burden upon his shoulders but with a fierce look in his eye, similar to that of the proud eagle. He took the girl into his arms from the boy's and carried her inside, away from prying eyes. 


End file.
